There's much to be learned from what's happened to Ripple. I, and others, were always warning of their centralized nature. Yet there were/are legions of supporters who wish to believe otherwise. I always got the sense that they just wanted to be a part of the next big thing. The other thing that always got to me was their incessant pandering to the Bitcoin community, here on the forums, and especially at conferences. Alas, their tech is nothing but an upgrade to the existing systems.
If bitcoin had
ANY centralized actor involved, KYC & money transmitter laws would have been used to shut it down a long time ago.
The fact that bitcoin is still functioning is not due to the state allowing it to function, but a testament to how censorship resilient Satoshi designed bitcoin. Bitcoin will continue to operate with or without the state's consent. In the absence of control, their only avenue to influence bitcoin is through regulation.